Intermittent train mechanism.



M. L. GREENSTREET & S.F. LU MM. INTERMITTENT TRAIN MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 28, 1917.

1,299,328. Patented A pr. 1,1919.

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MILFRED L. ennnns'rn'nnr 'AnnsILvAnUs n. LUMM, or LEBANON, MISSOURI,A-SSIGNORS 'I'O G. L. TIME SWITCH COMPANY, or LEBANON, MISSOURI, A co-=PARTNERSHIP.

INTEBMITTENT TRAIN MECHANISM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 1, 1am.

Application filed May 28, 1917. Serial No. 171,418.

To" all whom it may concern Be it known that we, Mrnrnno L. GREEN-STREET and- SILVANUS F. LUMM, citizens of the United States, residing atthe city of Lebanon, county of Laclede, and State of Missouri, haveinvented a certain new and useful Improvement in Intermittent TrainMechanism, of whichthe following is a full,

clear, and exact description, such as will enable others skilled in theart to which it appertainsto make and use the same, reference being hadto the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification.

"This invention relates to certain improvements in intermittent trainmechanism, the operation of which is controlled from a clockmechanism,for the purpose of turning on or off an electric switch. atpredetermined times. a

iThebroad object of our invention is to provide certain improvements inmechanisms of this type, the nature of which is suchas to permit the useof standardized commercial clock movements of a well known type in thedevice, and thus decrease vto a considerable extent the cost of manufacture of the device. At the same time, it is the object of ourinventionto provide a greatly simplified mechanism of thesort described,in whichyall of the operating parts are well protected by the clockcasing, yet easily accessible for the purpose of setting the trippingmechanism.

The use of time switches is familiar in the art, and our variousimprovements, as Vhereinafter'described, permit our supplying anaccurate, thoroughly practical, and en tirely fool-proof device at aprice which .makesit available to anyone who may have use for suchapparatus. By the utilization of our improvements, our process ofmanufacture is greatly simplified, as we may purchase ordinarywallclocks of thetype commercially designated the Waterbury movement, fullyassembled, with the clock casing, and by adding our improvements, mayconvert the striking train into a switch-operating train withoutrequiring a disassembling and reassemblingof the movements.

In the accompanying. drawings, Figure 1 represents a partial frontelevation of a clock frame equipped with our improvements, and showingalso aportion of the clock dial;

; Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation showing portions oftheswitch-operating train Fig. 3 is apartial side elevation, with casmgparts in section, showing various .portions of the switch-operatingtrain.

Referringto these illustrations in detail by means of the referencenumerals applied, let it be understood that 1 designates generally thecasing in which the movement is inclosed, only a portion thereofbeingshown, and 2 designates the clock dial which serves to cover and protectthe movement.

Mounted within the casing and back of the dial is the customary frame 4Ewhich, our invention presupposes, is of some conventional type such asthe Waterbury movement shown. Vithin this frame are mounted thecustomary time train and the train which in ordinary practice isutilized in operating the striking mechanism of the clock. The timetrain includes the minute hand shaft 5 and the hour hand sleeve 6disposed on the front of the frame and projecting through the dial 2, asis customary, so as to support on the exterior thereof the hour andminute hands. The minute hand shaft carries a pinion 7 and the hour handsleeve carries a pinion 8, which two pinions are connected by a reducingtrain made up of the conjoined pinions 9 andlO, the former meshing withthe pinion 7 and the latter with the pinion 8. This is theconventionalconstruction.

The switch-operating train includes the spring shaft 11 controlled bypawl and ratchet mechanism 12 in the customary fashion, and carrying thespring 14. The spring shaft 11 carries-also the spring wheel 15. Themovement of the spring wheel 15 in the unwinding direction is controlledby the customary governing mechanism, which includes the spur gears 16,17 and 18, and lantern gears carried by the latter, and the governor fan19.

All of the parts thus far described are conventional parts of the clockmechanism. Our

invention resides in the improvement in the means for predetermining andcontrolling the operation of the switch-operating train from the timemechanism. It will be understoodthat theminute hand shaft 5 is operatedby the time train in the conventional fashion, and the hour hand sleeve6 is operated from the shaft 5 through the pinions 7, 8, 9 and 10.Mounted on the front of the frame 4 is a staff 20 which, at its outerextremity carries the setting device revolubly mounted thereon. Thissetting device includes the conjoined setting dial 21, and spur, wheel26, and a pair of tripping arms 22, the latter being arranged forrotation on the hub of said spur wheels 26 and the outer ends of saidarms having frictional engagement with the setting dial, as hereinaftermore fully described. The arrangement of this dial 21 is such that, whenassembled with the rest of the device, it occupies the same plane asdoes the clock dial 2, and the conventional movement may be adapted toaccommodate it by simply punching out from the clock dial a hole of theproper diameter, which is slightly more than the di-- ameter of thesetting dial. The visible face of the setting dial 21 is divided on adiameter into two portions, each of which is calibrated into twelvesubdivisions representing the hours of a half day. The arms 22 areindependently revoluble on the setting device and their length exceedsthe radius of the dial 21 and their outer extremities are turned overthe periphery of the dial and downin front of the visible face thereof,where they are shaped to form indicators 24. The arms 22 have a springtendency which operates to hold them in frictional engagement with therear surface of the dial 21, which frictional engagement operates to retain the arms 22 against revolution relative to the dial by casualinfluences. The turnedover extremities of the arms 22, however, are soarranged that there is a sufiicient distance between the indicators 24and the opposite portions of the arms 22 to permit the latter to bedisengaged from the rear surface of the dial, by pressure applied to themembers 24. By operating the arms 22 in this fashion, they may readilybe set by hand to any of the selective positions about the dial 21. Eachof the arms 22 carries a rear- Wardly projecting tripping lug 25. Therelative size of pinions 26 and 10 is such that the former is given onerevolution upon every twenty-four hour movement of the time mechanism.

The detent mechanism for the switch-operating train includes thetripping staff 27 and the detent stafl 28, both rotatably mounted in theframe. The latter staff carries a counting arm 29 which is adapted tocooperate with the toothed periphery of the spring wheel 15, in which,at predetermined intervals, are formed the deep notches 15 The staff 28also carries the rocking arm 30 which is disposed to cooperate with acam 31 carried on the stafl of the pinion 17 In the third place, thestaff 28 carries the holding arm 32 which is disposed to cooperate with.a stud 34 carried on the spur wheel 18. Thetripping staff 27 carries arestraining arm. 35, which is arranged for cooperation with the stud 34,but which normally is out of the path thereof. Staff 27 carries also thelifting arm 36 which has a forwardly directed portion 36 crossing thepath of and in cooperation with counting arm 29, and a laterally turnedtripping arm 36*. The length of the arms 36 and 36 is such that thelatter occupies a position between the dial member 21 and the wheel 26and in the path of the tripping lugs 25.

The parts are normally held in the position illustrated in Fig. 2 by thesprings 38 and 39 of the staffs 28 and 27 respectively. During theoperation of the time train, the arms 22 are revolved past the trippingarm 36 so that the lugs 25 successively are brought into contacttherewith, and, by the movement of said lugs 25 on rotation of wheel 26,tripping arm 36 will be cammed upwardly so as to rock staff 28 againstthe influence of its spring, and lift counting arm 29 out of the slot15, by virtue ofthe engagement of lifting arm 36 therewith, and liftholding arm 32 out of engagement with stud 34 and place restraining arm35 in the path of said stud. The train being thus released, it will moveuntil stopped by stud 34 coming up against arm 35 and this will carrythe deep notch 15 out from under the nose of counting arm 29. Uponcontinued rotation of wheel 26 from the time train, the tripping lug 25in engagement with tr1pping arm 36 will be moved past said arm,permitting it to drop under the lnliuence of spring 39 which will removerestraining arm 35 out of the path of stud 34. The tram Wlll thenoperate, and arm 30 will swing downward a short distance as its free endmoves into a notch or low portion on the edge of cam 31 thereby rockingcounting arm 29 into and out of engagement with the periphery of springwheel 15. This movement Wlll continue to the point where the next deepnotch 15 is brought under counting arm 29 which, when it fallsthereinto, will bring holding arm 32 down into the path of stud 34,catching the stud and stopping 110 the operation of the train. Duringsuch operation of the train, the switch may be turned on or off,movement being transmitted to the switch from the spring wheel 15 by anysuitable gearing including a transmis- 115 sion pinion 40.

It will be seen that this arrangement provides a very effective andeconomical switchoperating mechanism in which a conventional clockmovement of commercial type 120 may be utilized by the addition of a fewsimple and easily assembled parts. Furthermore, the arrangement of thesetting dial to cooperate with the clock dial in the manner describedforms a protection for the work- 125 ing parts and also produces a verysightly instrument. This arrangement is secured by virtue of thearrangement of the tripping arms 22 and of the lifting arm 36. Thesetting of the tripping mechanism so as to trip we the switch-operatingtrain at a predetermined time, is readily accomplished by applyingpressure to the indicator 24L and then rotating the arm to the desiredposition. It is of great advantage that, in this operation, it isunnecessary to open the movement or to utilize any implement which, inthe hands of an unskilled person might work injury to the device.

We are aware that the device is susceptible of various changes andmodifications, departing in particulars from the illustrative formherein shown, but comprehended nevertheless within the scope of theappended claim.

What we claim is: r

In a time controlled mechanism, the combination of a frame, aspring-actuated shaft mounted therein, a wheel on said shaft, a rockingstaff, a counting arm carried by said stafl and arranged to engage saidwheel, a tripping staff mounted in the frame, a lifting arm carried bysaid tripping staff and having a portion adapted to engage the countingarm and a tripping portion extending exterior of the frame, a dialforming a covering for said parts, said dial being rovided with anopening, a rotatably mounted setting dial positioned within saidopening, means for rotating said setting dial, a pair of independentlyoperable setting arms mounted for rotation with said setting dial, eacharm being disposed behind said dial and having a frictional contact withthe rear face thereof under spring tendency whereby each arm will retainits adjusted position upon the dial, the extremity of each arm beingbent about the periphery of the dial and over a portion of the frontsurface thereof to form a manipulative indicator whereby the arm may bemoved rearwardly from the dial to permit its adjustment, the frontsurface of the setting dial being provided with indicia disposed inoperative association with the indicators, and a tripping lug on eacharm for engaging the tripping portion of the lifting arm to lift thecounting arm upon suitable rotation of the setting dial.

In testimony whereof we hereunto aflix our signatures this 17th day ofMay, 1917. MILFRED L. .GREENSTREET. SILVANUS F. LUMM.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents Washington, D. 0."

